


Sacrifice

by heytheregisela



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M, One Shot, RageHappy, some violence, xray and vav au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 01:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3100325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heytheregisela/pseuds/heytheregisela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Gavin is out and about on a seemingly calm night, he sees someone being mugged and naturally, he helps them out. His name was Michael, which was all Gavin really knew. That and the fact that Michael was actually pretty adorable. But looks could be deceiving and Gavin is going to learn just how careful he should be about letting strangers in so easily.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> Title from: “Sacrifice” by Jeff Williams & Casey Lee Williams. It goes well from Michael’s point of view, as you will find out as you read on. :)
> 
> This was a bit inspired by [this post](http://littleconan.tumblr.com/post/106886392481/but-omg-what-if-vav-is-out-and-about-and-then), but I actually didn’t write it in the form of the cartoon (they do have the same powers though) and it’s not completely what the post says. Only the beginning of this is inspired by the post. The rest was just what I came up with lol.

The city of Austin had been particularly quiet the passed few days that X-Ray and Vav were really running out of things to do. They had been finding themselves wearing their casual clothes more often than they were used to, but why wear their suits when there was hardly any saving to be done? Although he still carried it around in a backpack, just in case.

Gavin sighed deeply as he turned another corner, offering anyone that walked by him a smile, but only rarely would one of them return it. Part of being a superhero taught him that he needed to have a good attitude towards everyone, because he needed their trust more than anything if he was going to be looked up to as a savior.

He was about to give up his walk and go back home when he heard someone shouting, “Give me that back, you fucking asshole!” Gavin frantically looked around until he saw the alleyway where a young man with curly hair was currently trying to hold onto something another man was pulling from him. The man was wearing a mask and Gavin gasped.

“Oh, bollocks,” he cursed under his breath as he took his backpack off and hurried to pull out his outfit.

“Let go!” The curly haired man continued to shout and just as Gavin had finished clumsily putting on his suit, he saw him fall backwards and hit the ground roughly. The masked man laughed before turning around and taking off. Gavin checked himself over quickly and ran after the mugger. The mugger didn't even notice anyone was chasing him, so when he came to a halt at the end of the street, Gavin – or, Vav now – kept his full speed and that made tackling him all too simple.

“What the _fuck_!” The man growled, trying his best to pull Gavin off of him, but Gavin managed to lift his hands up without problem. “What are you do-” but then the mugger was instantly hushed as his world went into complete slow motion.

Knowing he couldn't possibly get away now, Gavin smiled and snatched the wallet from the man's hand before getting up to his feet.

“That's called _justice,_ you big dope,” Gavin was laughing as he started to turn away, but he practically jumped out of his skin when he was met with brown eyes. It was the curly haired man who'd been mugged. Gavin sighed in relief as he realized that.

“What the fuck did you do to him?” He asked Gavin, his eyebrows squeezing together in a mixture of concern and confusion.

Gavin bit down on his lower lip, because _wow,_ when was the last time he saw someone this attractive up close? He couldn't find it within him to speak, all capability of forming words was just _gone._ The man was starting to grow impatient and he crossed his arms, glaring at Gavin now.

“Hey, asshole, are you gonna say something or just stare at me?”

Gavin blinked hard and shook his head. “I-I... I stopped him.”

“Yeah, _clearly._ But how?” The man's eyes trailed down Gavin slowly and Gavin suddenly felt a rush of chills run through him. “And what is with the spandex and cape?” The man asked, his eyes locking with Gavin's again.

“I-I'm a superhero!” Gavin announced cheerfully, throwing his hands up. “I fight crime here. Well, not alone. I have a partner. His name's X-Ray! He's at home right now, which is where I should be, but I saw you in trouble and I _had_ to help!”

The man raised an eyebrow and it was evident he couldn't believe what he was hearing, but what other explanation was there? He sighed and held his hand out, “Can I have my wallet back, then?”

“Oh, of course!” Gavin let out a nervous laugh as he placed the object in his hand. “I'm Vav,” he then blurted out when he saw the man beginning to walk away. “What's your name?”

“I'm sure that's not actually your name, but whatever, I'm Michael.”

“You're right, Michael, but to protect my identity, you'll know me as Vav.”

“Protect your...” Michael paused to close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. Gavin tilted his head slightly, but he didn't dare say anything. After a moment, Michael put his hand down and opened his eyes. “You're not even covering your god damn face and you're worried that telling me your real name is going to fuck everything up?”

Gavin frowned as he looked down at his feet. “Well, when you put it that way...” He took a deep breath. “I'm Gavin.”

The corners of Michael's lips rose slowly, but since Gavin was still too occupied with feeling foolish to face him, he didn't see the smile that spread across Michael's face.

“Thanks for getting my wallet back, _Vav_.”

Gavin's eyes widened and finally, he looked up, but Michael was already walking away. He wasn't even sure if calling out “You're welcome” was a good idea. He simply grinned to himself and started making his way back to the shared apartment he had with Ray.

Ray was indulged in an online match with someone that he barely glanced at Gavin when he walked through the front door. Gavin didn't mind. He was too lost in thoughts about curly auburn hair, freckles, and brown eyes to really care about anything else at the moment.

“Oh, no... come _on_!” Ray cried and Gavin had gracefully sat himself down on the sofa as Ray tossed his controller aside. “Man, he got lucky! That was _my_ game! _I_ had it!” He shook his head, trying not to feel utterly frustrated about the loss. He couldn't help but take notice of how quiet Gavin was being. Usually that one made sure Ray didn't forget he was home.

“Dude, what's up with you?” He asked and he furrowed his eyebrows as he took in what Gavin was wearing. “Did something happen?! Why didn't you call me?!”

“No, Ray,” Gavin waved him off, “It wasn't a big deal, just a mugger.”

“Oh... okay.”

“And I met someone.”

Ray perked up at that, grabbing the remote and muting the noises still coming from the game. “You _met_ someone?” Gavin nodded, biting back the smile threatening to show. “Who?

“His name was _Michael_.”

“Okay, do you have to say it like that? You're reminding me of me when we have pizza for dinner, but that's because that's a good thing.”

“Michael's a good thing.”

“You just _met_ him.”

“And saved him.”

“So? That doesn't mean you _know_ him.”

Gavin groaned as he sat up. “You don't get it, Ray. He was such a _hot_ babe, but not in your typical kind of way.”

“What kind of way, then? I didn't know there were different ways. You're either hot or you're hot, but you're an asshole, Gavin, so I guess I can't be surprised that you have different views.”

“I'm not going to be offended, but I will explain what I meant.”

“Oh, great. I'm listening,” Ray said as he cupped his ears.

Gavin smiled at him. “Okay, he was very attractive in the kind of way that I would _definitely_ shag him if I got the chance-”

“Oh, god, _please_ don't tell me you're gonna bring him over for that. Man, I'm _still_ trying to recover from the last time you brought someone home. I swear, if any movie ever needs some believable ghost sounds, they could just record you,” Ray finished by shuddering at the thought, causing Gavin to gape at him.

“ _Now_ I'm offended.”

Ray sighed. “You were saying?”

Deciding not to dwell on that, Gavin cleared his throat and went on as if that little insult didn't happen, “But he was also pretty nerdy looking.”

“Uh, I don't think you should be judging that,” Ray said, gesturing towards himself and Gavin, “I mean, _look_ at us.”

“Yeah! _Exactly._ He's one of us and he's handsome at the same time! I don't see how that's fair.”

“Huh. We're superheroes so that naturally makes us appealing in some way, even if people don't know, because it's just the charm that comes with saving people,” he stopped talking for a moment to smirk at Gavin, and Gavin smirked back, “but man, this guy... he's just lucky, then, isn't he?”

“And I would love to take him on a date,” Gavin whispered. “Then maybe we can shag afterwards,” he said even quieter.

“Okay, but consider this, Gavin; going over to _his_ place and doing it there instead.”

Gavin merely rolled his eyes.

* * *

 

Finding Michael again proved to be more difficult than Gavin expected. He was out every night, almost wanting to ignore any sign of danger, but on the nights that Ray was with him, he knew he couldn't. Ray constantly kept reminding him, “Hero stuff first, romance shit later.” But not being able to find Michael was becoming more frustrating than Gavin wanted to admit. He was starting to give up, because maybe Michael was just one of those people he was fortunate enough to meet once in his life, but on one night where he and Ray split up to cover more of the city faster, he decided to check out the alley he'd seen Michael the first time.

Of course, going there, he felt silly, but it was worth a shot. And of course, when he did get there, no one was in sight. With a frown, Gavin told himself it was over, but before he could turn around, he heard the familiar voice say, “I knew I'd find you here.”

Gavin spun around to find Michael approaching him with a bright smile on his face, and Gavin could barely contain the excitement he felt.

“You know, you're not as easy to find as I hoped you would be,” Michael told him, halting in his tracks once he was face to face with him.

“I could say the same about you,” Gavin grinned.

Michael averted his eyes as he scratched the back of his neck. “Look, uh, I... I don't know why, maybe it's the whole superhero shit and the fact that you can make people go into slow motion with your hands, but I... I can't seem to stop thinking about you and I-”

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” Gavin interrupted, because he had _tried_ holding it in and waiting for Michael to finish, but he couldn't help himself.

Michael was looking at him again, an awe expression on his face, but he nodded. “Yeah... yes. That's what I was going to ask you, actually,” he laughed weakly and Gavin was sure he wouldn't be able to stop smiling if he wanted to.

“So, when I should I pick you up?” Gavin asked him.

“No, you know what? Since I was trying to ask you out first until you beat me to it,” Michael wanted to sound bitter about that, but it didn't work, “ _at least_ let me be the one to pick _you_ up at your place.”

“Can I pay, then?”

“No complaints there. Maybe you can pay next time too.”

“Oh, you already assume there will be a next time?”

Michael smiled lightly as he leaned in closer and Gavin felt his breath catch in his throat.

“I'm a little confident, because I kind of like you,” Michael whispered.

Gavin nodded. “Me too, but about you.” Michael's smile widened. Gavin dug into his pocket for his phone and Michael did the same. They quickly exchanged numbers before Ray was calling him. “Looks like there might be trouble on the other side,” he told Michael, looking up at him, “I'll see you... tomorrow? That sound good?”

“Sounds great,” Michael responded.

With one more longing look, Gavin took off, answering Ray's call when he was far enough away. Michael stood in place as he watched Gavin disappear. He then looked down at his phone, the screen still displaying Gavin's number, and he sighed.

* * *

 

“X-Ray! I've got him!” Gavin shouted, holding down the one of the many men who had attempted to start a shooting at a diner with his power. Ray had already taken care of the others. Ray hurried to Gavin's side and pressed the small button on the side of his glasses.

“Alright, asshole, any last words?”

“He can't talk when I have him under slow motion,” Gavin reminded Ray.

“I know, but it's a cool thing to say before capturing the criminal!”

Gavin couldn't help but grin. “Is that going to be your big line when we finally get the Mad King?”

“Yes, and I _love_ that you said 'when' instead of 'if'.”

“Of course. Now, do your best,” Gavin closed his hands and jumped out of the way as Ray took over with that situation. He flinched a little at the vibration coming from his pocket. He took it out, a smile spreading across his face to see Michael was the one calling. He sighed happily, but the smile was wiped away at the sound of a huff coming from behind. He looked over to find Ray standing with his arms crossed, seeming more than done with Gavin.

“What?” Gavin asked. “I think it's cute that he calls me every time he knows we're out doing something like this. He cares, Ray.” And Ray understood that completely.

It had been around a month since Gavin and Michael's first date together and although Ray was always a bit nervous about either of them getting into serious relationships while dealing with the kind of job they had, there was no doubt those two were definitely infatuated with each other. Sometimes it was annoying how much they wanted to be together, though. Michael was practically always over when they weren't doing any saving, but that was because Gavin kept inviting him like it was no big deal. Like Ray didn't mind one bit.

And really, there _was_ something a bit off about the relationship; it was the fact that Gavin was an open book, but Michael, well, he wasn't that at all.

There were nights where Ray was home when they were hanging out and all he heard were things he already knew about Gavin, because Gavin wouldn't shut up. So, Ray sometimes figured that's why Michael didn't say much about himself. Perhaps Gavin wasn't just giving the guy a chance to open up more. It made sense, right? Ray had asked Gavin how much he actually knew about Michael and Gavin would simply shrug and say, “I know plenty.” And then he would drop that conversation so fast before Ray could even have the chance to say more about it.

Therefore, Ray would drop it and try not to worry. There was nothing to worry about. The way Michael looked at Gavin was a way he'd only seen couples in movies look at each other. That meant something good.

Still, the phone calls were unnecessary.

Gavin didn't answer this call; he simply turned away as he quickly typed him a text message to let him know he couldn't talk at the moment.

“Dude, how many times is your _boyfriend_ going to call you when we're busy?” Ray asked, not holding back the sharp tone.

“Consider this the last time,” he heard Michael whisper. Ray's eyes widened as he started to turn around, but everything went black before he could fully see Michael standing there.

“Ray, when you find someone _you_ really like, you'll see that I _won't_ complain and-” and then Gavin's world went dark.

He gasped when he opened his eyes again, but he cringed when he tried looking around, because his head was _throbbing._

“Oh, what happened?” He asked, unknowing that he was tied to a chair right behind the chair Ray was tied to.

“Your boyfriend happened,” Ray mumbled in response.

Gavin jumped a bit at the sound of his voice, but relaxed when he recognized it as Ray's. “What are you talking about?”

Ray rolled his eyes. “Michael did this to us, Gavin.”

“What?!” Gavin ignored the ache in his head and began to look around as best as he could. It looked to be an empty warehouse of sorts. “Why would you accuse him, Ray? Of _all_ people.”

“Gavin, you're an idiot. I heard and _saw_ a glimpse of him before I blacked out from whatever the fuck he hit me with. He just called you to distract you so he could sneak up behind us.”

“That's not true!”

“It _is_ true, Gavin! I wouldn't accuse your boyfriend for kicks, okay?!”

Gavin shook his head, his eyebrows knitting together. “No! I _know_ Michael and Michael wouldn't do this to us.” Ray was going to ask Gavin something about that when he noticed someone walking up to them from the corner of his eye.

“I guess you were wrong,” Michael spoke, his tone dull, and Gavin turned his head to face him. He could actually feel his heart drop at the sight of Michael wearing a jacket that seemed to resemble a bear's body – dark brown on the sleeves and around, but in the middle, it was a light brown with stitches at the top near his neck instead of a zipper. Michael also had the hood on, which looked like the bear's mouth. The hood even had the bear ears and if this was any other situation, Gavin would have found the attire to be kind of cute, but he was just confused. The closer Michael got, the more Gavin noticed he was also wearing a light blue backpack and if Gavin thought he was feeling uneasy before, he was losing it now.

Michael stood in front of Gavin, a devious smile tugging at his lips.

Gavin swallowed the lump in his throat as he glared up at him. “Why are you doing this, Michael?”

“Oh, please, call me Mogar, _Vav_ ,” Michael then glanced behind Gavin to stare at the back of Ray's head, “God damnit. Let me tell you, getting you losers was the easiest thing I ever had to do.”

Gavin frowned, trying not to show how much it stung to hear that.

“You fucking asshole,” Ray grumbled. “I swear, when I get out of this chair-”

“You won't.”

“ _When_ I do, I'm kicking your ass. I mean, what kind of a name is _Mogar_? You... you stupid wannabe bear!”

Michael raised his eyebrows and walked around to be face to face with him instead. “You're one to talk, X-Ray, which is only _one_ fucking letter off your real name. _Real_ clever.”

Ray narrowed his eyes at him, but they both jumped at the sound of the door opening. From the way Michael stood up straight and stared wide eyed in the direction, Ray knew he was just as surprised.

“I'm guessing you weren't expecting visitors?” He asked.

Michael didn't answer. He kept his eyes on the door and felt the color drain from his face when the familiar person walked in. Ray also felt fear take over, recognizing that crown on the person's head all too well.

The Mad King smiled smugly at Michael as he picked up his pace towards him. “Mogar,” he spoke and Gavin gulped when he glanced over. “It's been _too_ long.”

“What are you doing here?” Michael choked out and Ray looked up at him, baffled. Why the fuck was he so scared?

“How do you two know each other?” Ray asked quietly, not wanting the Mad King to hear, but he did anyway.

“Oh, did he not tell you? _I'm_ the one who made Mogar who he is today.”

Now Gavin felt sick. He had to swallow over and over again to hold it in. Ray was speechless for a moment, just staring back and forth from the two.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He finally managed to ask, but when neither answered, he scoffed. “Wow, Gavin, when you pick them, you really pick them good, huh?”

“Shut up,” Gavin mumbled.

“I need to thank you for capturing the two idiots that have been on my tail for an annoyingly long time,” the Mad King spoke as he placed his hands on top of Gavin and Ray's heads. Gavin tried pulling away, but it was no use.

“I didn't get them for you, Ryan,” Michael said through his gritted teeth and both Ray and Gavin looked at the Mad King – or rather, at Ryan, in awe.

“Oh no? So what, just did it for yourself? To _prove_ that you're the all powerful one?”

“I _am._ ”

“Right,” Ryan nodded. “Are you forgetting the person who helped you control your telekinesis? Before me, you couldn't do _anything_ with your powers.”

“Wait,” Ray cut in, his attention going back to Michael, “Telekinesis? You have _telekinesis_?” Without waiting for a response, he attempted to kick Gavin's chair, “Gavin, that's how the god damn remote ended up behind the sofa all the time! You have _no_ idea how relieved I am about that! I thought we had some ghost shit in our apartment or something. Man, I-”

“Shut up, X-Ray,” Ryan said as he slapped his hand against Ray's mouth. Ray stiffened. Ryan shook his head and met Michael's eye again. “The remote ending up behind the sofa?” He chuckled. “You're losing control, aren't you? _That's_ why you captured these two. You wanted to take their powers so you wouldn't feel completely helpless.”

Gavin practically pouted as he looked at Michael and for the first time that day, Michael actually seemed like he felt _miserable_ about this whole thing. But then Michael blinked hard and the guilt in his eyes was gone.

“I don't need their stupid powers; I'm powerful enough on my own!”

“Really? Then show me,” Ryan nodded towards the stack of boxes in the corner, “Throw one of them at me. Come on, concentrate on everything in your mind, on your _power_ – just like I taught you.”

Michael could feel his eyes begin to water, because he was trying to do that, but he _couldn't._ No matter how hard he tried to concentrate, the boxes would barely budge. Ryan laughed, shaking his head.

“Oh, Michael.”

“It's _Mogar_ ,” Michael corrected him, ignoring how his vision blurred a little.

“ _Michael_. That's all you'll ever be. Just _Michael._ You always tried to be a villain, but it's about time that you realize, you can never be one. Well, at least, not on your own. Come back and join us, Michael, and then you can be _Mogar_ when you're ready.”

Michael took a deep breath, struggling to hold back his tears. “There's no way in hell that I'd go back to you and your crew. Yeah, you helped me control my powers, but that's only because you wanted to control _me._ You didn't care about me, Ryan, and all that shit you made me do, it wasn't to benefit me. It wasn't for practice; it was to keep your little game going. So, you know what? I was done being your puppet. I was done with everything. Game over.”

“No, Michael, the game has barely begun,” Ryan told him, a cold stare replacing the smugness he just had. “Now, I'm going take these boys,” he grabbed onto Gavin and Ray's hair, tugging it tightly, “And you, you're going to stay away from me. It's for your own good, Michael. I know you're smart enough to understand that.”

“Man, I finally have the Mad King right next to me and I can't do _shit_ about it,” Ray spoke. Since he couldn't turn to glance at Gavin with Ryan's grip on his hair, he merely kept facing forward as he told him, “Quick, Vav, push the button on my glasses.”

Gavin blinked. “I'm in a bit of a situation right now, X-Ray.”

“I _know_ and I'm _pissed_.”

Ryan smiled down at Ray. “Aw, poor X-Ray didn't succeed in capturing me.” Ray just rolled his eyes.

Michael hurried to Gavin's side and placed a hand on his shoulder, knowing Ryan was watching him carefully. “Gav,” he said softly, but Gavin didn't want to look at him, “Gav, look, I _do_ love you, okay? I didn't mean to fall for you, but it happened, because I didn't expect you to be as amazing as you are. You have to believe me-”

“Why should I?” Gavin asked, snarling at him. “You put me in danger. You put my best friend in danger. If you _did_ end up falling for me, you wouldn't have gone through with this.”

“Having Ryan show up wasn't part of the plan!”

“What _was_ your plan?”

“I...” Michael put his hand down and shook his head. “I-I had one, but then I got to know you, and I sort of... I don't know. Gavin, I do love you.”

“No, you don't. You don't love me. You don't love anyone. You just care about yourself,” Gavin's teeth were clenched that Michael averted his eyes to avoid having to see the hate on his face.

“Actually, I can tell you that he's being sincere,” Ryan said to Gavin, “That was the problem with Michael; he loved too much. Him and his stupid big heart,” he shook his head. “You see, he _wants_ to be bad, but he _can't._ Not on his own, anyway. That's why I took him under my wing. If only you knew the trouble I had with getting him to kill someone for me. He eventually did it, yeah, but by the time he did, I didn't care about killing that person anymore.”

Michael stepped away from them, closing his eyes as a tear escaped.

“Now, I'm going to untie you two from these chairs,” Ryan told the two, “But I'm keeping your hands tied, so don't think you can try anything funny.” He bent down, letting go of their hair, and started to untie Ray first.

“Oh, come on, Ry- uh, your highness, or whatever,” Ray said, receiving a quick glare from Ryan, “What would you even want with us? We're just two guys in tight clothing in our twenties.” Gavin nodded.

“I just want the satisfaction of getting rid of you two,” Ryan answered, smiling at him as he stood up and started to do the same to Gavin.

Michael swallowed roughly, the thought of Gavin being brutally killed by Ryan's men made him shiver. He remembered _everything_ those men would do to the ones Ryan would drag in. It was something he couldn't forget. Their agonizing screams. The blood spattered walls. Those were things that were forever engraved into Michael's mind. That's why he got away from it.

He was tired of being afraid. He was tired of pretending to be something he wasn't with them. He told himself he could do it better on his own in a way that wouldn't scar him for life. He couldn't, though, because here he was, helplessly standing aside as Ryan took the two people he cared more than anything to their death, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. X-Ray and Vav were heroes and he had ruined it for them, thinking what he wanted was to be the opposite of what they were.

They didn't deserve this.

They didn't deserve to die over his failure.

Michael opened his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing as he watched Ryan begin to drag Ray and Gavin towards the door. He saw the look Ray gave Gavin and it made his heart drop. It was the look of goodbye...

“No,” Michael breathed out. His hands closed into tight fists and he wrinkled up his nose. “NO!” The entire building shook, causing Ray and Gavin to almost lose their balance, and Ryan just grinned as he looked over his shoulder at him.

“Impressive,” he said. “What else can you do?”

Michael narrowed his eyes and huffed. “This,” he said as he looked towards the door and made it slam shut.

“Oh my god, that's fucking cool and creepy at the same time,” Ray shuddered.

“Nice. What else?” Ryan's voice was so challenging, because he thought he was hilarious. It only helped to anger Michael further.

“Let go of them,” he growled and since Ryan only smiled in response, Michael screamed. Gavin's eyes widened as he saw the stack of boxes hurdling towards them.

“Vav, duck!” Ray shouted before doing so himself. Gavin ducked just in time, but Ryan, however, did not. Whether he purposely wanted to be thrown across the room with the impact to show Michael that he would be okay afterwards or not was beyond Gavin, but it would make sense, because after Ryan landed, he sat up slowly.

“Run!” Michael cried out to Ray and Gavin and as Ray got up to oblige, wondering how the hell they would get out with their hands tied, the door opened. Gavin hurried to stand – which was a little too difficult to do without hands – and then the two of them took off.

Michael sighed in relief to see them getting away. He turned towards Ryan and scowled as he slowly began to approach him.

“We're almost there,” Ray said to Gavin, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't even remember that his head had also been pounding earlier. He ran out and Gavin came to a halt before he could. He turned around to see Michael pulling something out of his backpack – a sort of weapon, but he couldn't make out what it was.

Ray stopped running when he noticed Gavin wasn't next to him and groaned before going back to get him. “Gav, let's go!” He shouted as he ran back into the building.

“We can't leave Michael! He saved us!” Gavin argued.

“He's the reason we were even in this mess to begin with! So, let's go! Whatever happens to him is his problem!”

“No, Ray! We're _superheroes_! We're supposed to save those in danger. _Michael_ is in danger. Ray, we can't leave,” Gavin was practically bouncing up and down like a child trying to plead with their parent.

Ray shook his head. “We can't do shit anyway, Gavin! Are you forgetting that our hands are still tied?” He lifted his own to show him. “He can handle this. He makes shit move with his _mind_!”

“And I make time slow down,” Gavin said under his breath, realization dawning on his face. Ray raised an eyebrow, but he stayed silent as Gavin went on, “Our _wrists_ are tied, Ray, _my_ wrists are tied, but my hands... my hands...” He slowly turned around.

“You really think you're going to kill me with nunchuks?” Ryan asked, obviously amused by Michael's choice of weapon. Michael was holding it over his head, staring hard at Ryan. “I'm _so_ scared,” Ryan taunted and Michael had no time to react before Ryan managed to jump up at him. Michael dropped his weapon as he fell to the floor with Ryan on top of him. He wanted to look around for something to throw at Ryan, but the man wrapped his arms tightly around Michael's neck, pulling him up until he was on his knees.

“ _So_ scared,” Ryan whispered as he squeezed. Michael gasped for air, but nothing would go in. He brought his hands up, frantically grabbing Ryan's arms to pull them away, but it was useless – Ryan was stronger, much stronger, and Michael felt another tear roll down his face.

“I can't wait until I have your boyfriend in this position. Can you imagine him begging for air?” Ryan asked and Michael dug his nails into Ryan's skin. Ryan was ready to squeeze again when everything started to slow down. The grip around his neck was still painful and making it difficult to breathe, but Michael knew he wasn't going to die now.

“Fuck yeah, Vav!” Ray cheered on as Gavin stood in front of him, his hands awkwardly facing upward at Ryan.

“Alright, Ray, if I put my hands down, you know he'll only be in slow motion for a short time; do you want to take that risk while we go free Michael together somehow, or do you want me to hold him while you do that on your own?” Gavin asked.

Ray widened his eyes as he looked back and forth from Ryan and Gavin. “Uh... I-I... uh...” but then he gasped as he thought of something. “Keep him holding him, man. I got this!” Gavin nodded and Ray ran over to Michael. He dropped to his knees in front of him and leaned forward.

“Your hands and wrists are free. I'm gonna need you to push the button on my glasses so I can tear through these ropes with the laser,” Ray explained. “Can you do that?”

Michael could barely nod, but he did his best and Ray smiled softly at him. Michael lifted his hand up and Ray got himself ready to aim at the ropes around his wrists. The button was pressed and Michael shut his eyes as the bright light came out. Gavin grinned as he watched from afar. He had never felt more like a hero than he did right then and there.

Ray pulled his wrists free and stopped his glasses. “Oh thank god,” he sighed in relief. He then turned his attention towards Michael and Ryan. “Alright, asshole,” he said to Ryan, “Let go of him.” He took hold of Ryan's arms and pulled. He could feel himself moving in slow motion with Ryan, but he kept pulling until Michael was able to slip through. Ray let go of Ryan and almost laughed as Ryan's arms went back to slowly, but surely hit himself in the face.

Michael hunched over, gasping for air and even gagging. Ray gently patted his back and told him it would be okay. Gavin dropped his hands and ran over to join them.

“He's alright?” Gavin asked.

Ray nodded and stood up to untie Gavin's ropes. “Yeah, we _barely_ saved him, though.” Gavin smiled at him. Once his wrists were also free, he bent down next to Michael.

“Michael, hey Michael,” he spoke gently.

Michael looked at him with a weak smile. “I'm sorry,” his voice was quiet and a bit raspy that Gavin couldn't bring himself to be mad. Not now. Gavin wrapped his arms around him and Michael buried his face in the crook of Gavin's neck. He ran his fingers through Michael's curls, hushing him when he started to feel and hear him cry softly.

Ray frowned as he watched the two, hoping Gavin wouldn't let Michael get away with what he did too easily. Well, he would make sure that didn't happen. He turned towards Ryan and crossed his arms, a smile beginning to grace his features now.

“Now, what to do with you?” He asked, even though Ryan couldn't answer, which did make this better. “Ah, I got an idea,” he brought a finger up to the button on his glasses, “Bye bye, Mad King.” And then Ryan blacked out. 


End file.
